Violins and violas are held by a performer with one hand positioned along the neck of the instrument and the base of the instrument is held in place between the chin and shoulder of the player. In use, the player places his chin on a chinrest affixed to the base of the violin pressing the chinrest downward so that the instrument is pressed against the performer's shoulder. It is typically necessary for the performer to be able to manipulate the position of the instrument by applying appropriate pressure against the chinrest with his chin. Moreover, it is often necessary for the player to position his chin on the chinrest for extensive periods of time during both practice and performance, so that optimum comfort of the chinrest becomes important.
A conventional chinrest is typically formed of wood or plastic and is preferably carved or molded into a shape having a concave upper surface of sufficient size to accomodate varying sizes and contours of chins and jaws of performers. However, the prior art concave upper surface does not conform to the idiosyncratic contours of most chins and jaws. For example, some chins are jutting having sharp lines while others are rounder. Further, some chins are bonier than others which are covered with more fleshy tissue which generally provides a padding for the performer's chin. Thus, for obvious reasons, the prior art chinrest may be a source of considerable discomfort to the performer. In fact, many beginning violinists do not progress beyond the early stages of violin instruction because of the discomfort suffered in their chin and jaw as a result of the uncomfortable chinrest.
Furthermore, with respect to more skilled and experienced performers, the chin is used to control the angle and position of the instrument. For that reason, a properly shaped chinrest is important in the control of the instrument, and it is widely known that faulty left wrist and finger position may result if proper control of the instrument cannot be obtained.
The conventional solution to the problem of an uncomfortable and misfitting chinrest is to place padded overlays on the chinrest. Unfortunately, this does not work satisfactorily for most students of the violin or viola because the contour of the chinrest is not form-fitting, so that the contour of the overlay is similarly unsatisfactory. Thus, the industry is still awaiting a viable solution to the above-described problems. One solution to the problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,760,593, which discloses a chinrest formed from a mold taken directly from the jawbone of a human placed in playing position. However, there is no teaching that the chinrests may be customized to the shape of the jawbone for each individual performer.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,259, a chinrest design was disclosed having support brackets which allow the chinrest to pivot to a most comfortable position in accordance with the movements of the chin of the performer.
None of the prior art, however, discloses a chinrest and a method of making the same in which the shape of the chinrest is customized to the shape of an individual performer's jaws. The benefits of the invented device and method are described below.